Hiroshima – DVD Review

World history’s first – and, to date, only – nuclear weapon attacks were the atomic devices the United States exploded over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. Frustrated by the intransigence of Japanese leadership and desperate to use any and all possible means to forestall a costly invasion of Japan’s home islands, American president Harry Truman authorized the bombings. The attacks killed outright, perhaps 100,000 Japanese in Hiroshima and about another 50,000 at Nagasaki. Thousands more have since died from the lingering effects of the bombs’ deadly radiation. Initially widely celebrated in Allied countries for helping bring history’s most destructive war to a close, the attacks began to receive criticism almost as soon as the disturbing images of the bombs’ Japanese victims were widely circulated. At the 50th anniversary of the bombings in 1995, the smoldering controversy flamed into a nation-wide, very public debate in the US focused on plans by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC to display an exhibit that many veterans and others who staunchly support the bombings considered one-sided and unfair.

Such criticism, however, cannot be leveled at Hiroshima, BBC Video’s outstanding new addition to its highly-acclaimed DVD series, “BBC History of World War II.” Without doubt, Hiroshima is the most fair and balanced comprehensive presentation yet produced of what has become one of history’s most controversial events. It is also a dynamic example of the inherent power of film media to inform and enlighten in an interesting and absorbing manner. All of the latest and most effective techniques in documentary film production – historical participant interviews, docu-drama recreation, archival film footage and state-of-the-art computer graphics (CGI) – are combined in BBC Video’s Hiroshima by a producer of skill and vision into a riveting film that captures viewers’ attention from the first frame and firmly holds it until the end. One might be tempted to call it “entertaining” due to the visual appeal of its colorful and expertly done CGI, but the film’s grim subject matter makes that term highly inappropriate.

Subscribe Today

Producer Paul Wilmshurst explains in an on-camera interview – one of several bonus features on the DVD – that his goal was to present three things: the science behind the bomb; the history of the event within its political context; and the human impact of the attack. He succeeds admirably in each of these, including the presentation of one revealing segment that actually places viewers inside the bomb itself as it plummets toward the center of Hiroshima to show how a nuclear explosion works (via some extraordinary CGI). Immediately following that segment, Wilmshurst combines CGI with superbly-done, well-acted docu-drama to give viewers a realistic experience of the nuclear weapon’s three terrible effects: heat, blast and radiation. This chilling segment is as close as any of us will get – we hope! – to experiencing what it’s like to be on the receiving end of an atomic bomb attack.

As dramatic and effective as is the DVD’s outstanding use of CGI and docu-drama techniques, Hiroshima’s most poignant moments are the numerous interviews of historical participants – and victims — in this tragic event. Although the high-level American and Japanese decision-makers have long since passed away, Wilmshurst was able to include several revealing interviews with, among others, President Truman’s US Navy aide-de-camp as well as surviving crewmen of the Enola Gay – the benignly-named B-29 Superfortress bomber that pilot Paul Tibbetts christened after his mother. The gut-wrenching testimonies of the several survivors of the Hiroshima explosion present an image of horror and unbelievable destruction that puts a tragic human face on a target that Enola Gay’s crewmen could only make out that day as a jumbled collection of indistinct buildings clustered around a “T-shaped” aiming point – the bridge near the center of town that became ground zero at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945.

Wilmshurst wisely avoids including a voice-over narration that is overly moralizing, a tendency that has marred presentations of this event in past productions. Instead he lets the participants and victims speak for themselves in their interviews, often placing their contrasting perceptions and opinions of the bombing in such a manner that the opposing positions are clearly evident to the viewer. Viewers hear both sides and can make up their own minds without attempts to sway them one way or the other by the all-too-typical, heavy-handed narrative of other productions preaching 21st century morality in order to second guess leaders and soldiers who sixty years ago were caught in the middle of history’s most brutal war. Hiroshima is refreshingly even-handed.

Yet, Hiroshima’s voice-over narration is an integral part of the film. It expertly weaves together the interviews, docu-drama, CGI and archival footage into a coherent, comprehensive story that flows smoothly, almost effortlessly, from beginning (the explosion of the Trinity Device, the atomic test on July 16, 1945) to end (the terrible aftermath – the human cost — of the bombings). Wilmshurst made an inspired choice as Hiroshima’s narrator – the marvelous dramatic actor, John Hurt. One of Britain’s most distinguished and accomplished actors, Hurt’s distinctive, deeply resonant voice perfectly complements the “action” in the film. His narrative performance in Hiroshima establishes Hurt as possibly the front-runner to assume the mantle of “top documentary narrator” that has been sadly vacant since the passing of fellow actor, Laurence Olivier (“the voice” that made watching the documentary series World at War such a stirring experience). Our ACG “wish list” now includes hoping to see more documentary productions featuring John Hurt’s wonderful voice.

Sponsored

About ACG

Armchair General is the INTERACTIVE history magazine where YOU COMMAND and decide the course of action!

Every issue brings you articles on military history, analysis of current military and political events, and stories of real heroes among us today. Our authors include leading historians and analysts who lend integrity and credibility to this fresh presentation of historical and contemporary events. PLUS each issue contains unique interactive articles based on actual historical events in which YOU are the commander who must choose the best course of action for victory!